


Bound To You

by lxvellan



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Heartache, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Related, Multi, Romance, Slow Burn, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29074239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lxvellan/pseuds/lxvellan
Summary: You have dreams you can’t remember when you wake and always wake up in tears heart aching and longing for seemingly no reason. That is until you cross paths with a familiar blonde who catches your eye and your immediately drawn to them... but you can’t figure out why his mysterious blue eye draw you in and why there is such pain in them when they look at you.(Modern AU!)
Relationships: Erwin Smith/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	1. Almost Lover

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there and welcome!!
> 
> I just wanted to set up some expectations before any of you start reading, this story does take place in a modern setting and is an AU in which all the events front the manga/anime were a past life that some of the other characters remember and others don’t.
> 
> As far as updates go they probably wont be very consistent because I am very scatter brained and have like two other stories I’m writing on top of also drawing and taking art commissions, I’m going to try and update and write as often as I can but please bare in mind that if I fell the story is no doing too well or getting traction I will probably stop and focus on other stories!
> 
> Anyway I do hope you enjoy what I’ve written for the first chapter, major s/o to my friend Nexus yet again for being my beta and alway supporting me in my writing endeavors!

**READER P.O.V**

Devastation.

That's what you felt the moment you stepped foot on the roof and saw the pale and motionless body of Erwin laying on the roof across from the body of another whose corpse was so charred, you couldn't identify them at all. 

You could hear Eren was arguing about the serum that Levi held clutched in his hands but you couldn't focus enough to listen to the rest of their words and to be honest, you didn't care to. Your eyes were locked onto the pale blonde who was lying supine, blood seeping from his bandaging.

Your ears were ringing from shock and there was a dull ache in your chest as you stared in disbelief at Erwin's unmoving form. “ _How…?”_ You thought to yourself.

How could the world be so cruel? It wasn’t that long ago when you last saw his face. That same calm and collected yet almost icy expression that he always wore, no matter where he was. Gone. And in its place was a lifeless expression that somehow showed a silent pain that you could only discern upon gazing at his face. And it was something you desperately wished wasn’t there.

With slow and shaky steps, you made your way to Erwin, collapsing to your knees once you were in front of him. Slowly with your trembling hand, you reached out to caress his cheek, wincing because you could already feel the warmth gradually leaving his body.

"E-Erwin…” Your breath hitched as you fought back tears; the dull ache in your chest making itself more prominent as you saw how utterly helpless he looked. 

"Please Erwin… you can't do this to me,” there was a deep pain in your voice that was impossible to hide. One way or another, the distress you felt at seeing him like this… would have come to show itself.

“You can't do this to _us_ ,” you breathed out shakily. The tears you were fighting so hard to hold back had begun to blur your vision. You tried to blink away the tears that were pooling in your eyes but they began to spill out on their own and you let out a strangled cry as you cup his face in your hands, placing your forehead against his.

Something snapped in you, it felt like your heart was being torn apart. It broke your heart to see how Erwin wouldn’t even flinch at the sudden touch of your warm fallen tears now trickling down his cheeks and onto your fingers as you held him close and wailed.

You could hear Eren yelling at Levi and the moment you looked up to see the both of them, Levi had already punched Eren away, knocking him down toward the edge of the roof. In a split second, you saw how Mikasa unsheathed her blade and dashed toward Levi. Leaping on top of Levi, she knocked him down, pinning him to the roof, and viciously pushing down her blade to his neck.

There was a rage in her eyes that you had never seen before; one that was feral and more than willing to kill. It was a look that you recognized, a look that you probably had once before when you saw how the military police treated Erwin.

You quickly averted your attention to the ginger who was still standing next to Erwin; his eyes locked with yours. For a split second, you could see the sympathy in his eyes before he quickly looked away and made an attempt to reason with Mikasa. 

He was just as terrified of Mikasa’s ferocious look as you were, but that didn’t stop him from pleading with her for the serum. You didn’t know this young man for long; he was one of the new recruits unfortunate enough to participate in this mission. Based on his strong feelings towards choosing Erwin as the candidate for the Titan serum, you could tell… he believed in Erwin.

He believed in his words and his ability to lead humanity and to put us on the path to salvation. It almost shocked you how for a moment, you were thinking in the past tense; ‘believed’ in him thinking as if.. as if Erwin were already dead.

Hearing the young ginger describe how he saw the image of Erwin getting hit by the volley of crushed boulders felt like needles borrowing their way deeper into your heart. This young man must have had a higher power watching over him for him to have survived a close encounter with death itself. What sheer luck. But nothing boiled your blood more than hearing him talk about how he actually contemplated killing Erwin when he found him barely breathing, inches from death’s cold grasp. For a split second, you wanted to hurt him. Worse, in that moment, you wished you could trade his life for Erwin… but you couldn’t give it another thought.

As cruel as it was for the world to take Erwin and the rest of the scouts away, somehow… you couldn’t bring yourself to wish death upon another. Not with so many lives lost already just from this one expedition, which now felt like it was for naught to you.

He spoke so highly of Erwin until the moment he came to an epiphany. His sole reason for living when everybody else fell: To bring Commander Erwin back to life. But he didn’t call Erwin by his name, no...

_Devil._

That's what he called him. “ _The only thing that could lay waste to the Titans..is a devil!”_ , he yelled out to Eren, Mikasa and Levi. The pure shock and horror on their faces as they listened to this young man’s detailed recount of how he went through hell and suffered a long way to bring the commander to the only thing that he hoped could save him.

_“He's not a devil, he's just a man with a dream,”_ you thought to yourself as anger boiled up in you.

You broke your gaze on the ginger and your eyes slowly moved back down to Erwin; quickly pressing your hand down to his side. You could barely feel his slight breathing against your now bloodied hand. The bandage that was wrapped around his waist was completely soaked red and it did nothing to help stop the bleeding.

_“He's losing too much blood,”_ you thought to yourself as more tears spilled from your eyes making your vision blur. “ _We have to make it stop. We have to save him!”_

It almost felt like someone had stabbed you in your chest; the pain was almost unbearable and you didn’t think you could feel this type of pain but you did. It took every bit of your remaining energy to try and persevere through it, to stay strong… for him. For the hope that he could live.

“Erwin, please. Stay with me…,” you begged him, clenching your fist tight into a ball against his side; being mindful not to put more unnecessary pressure on his already bleeding wound.

“You can't do this, damn it. We need you," you paused, inhaling sharply. "... _I need you,_ " you whispered softly to him, hot tears streaming down your face.

You waited for a few seconds, thinking that even though he was weak, perhaps you’d see a sign from him that he could hear you. You waited longer and still… nothing. It became increasingly harder for you to breathe. It felt like your body was giving up.. as if… you no longer had a reason to live.

"You fool… you promised me, remember? You promised me you'd make me that horrible soup when we got back,” you said to him softly with a tone of nostalgia mixed in with sadness in your voice. The memory of that morning when he made that promise to you made you mentally smile, even if it was just for a split second... but despair quickly overcame you again.

The fact that this was something you were genuinely looking forward to made you cry more. Especially when you tried so desperately to keep thinking about the memory of one of Erwin’s absolutely rare but genuine warm smiles at you when you giggled at the prospect of his horrible cooking attempts.

For a brief moment, you closed your eyes and began to picture that day. That morning before the entire Scout Regiment headed out in pursuit of a goal that would hopefully net humanity a significant win. The morning… when the love of your life looked into your eyes, spoke words with a voice like rich butter that gave you such euphoria, you could swear you were on cloud9. How he held you close, listening to his heartbeat and soaking in the warmth of his strong embrace. Showing a side to you that he showed no one else.

In an instant, your eyes widened as you saw his hand twitch in response; it almost took your breath away. 

"See? You remember, don’t you? How we were supposed to get married in secret when we got back too, remember?" Your voice was low and raspy as you spoke to him. The tears were now a steady stream flowing down your face.

In that moment, you also thought back to the moment he proposed to you. It wasn’t anything grand or spectacular, but it was a warm moment in time when the world was quiet and still and you wished you could go back to it and just make time freeze.

When he held you close within the confines of his toned arms, digging his face deep into your hair and softly kissing your neck. Resting his head against the temple of your head, you remembered how you could feel his smile against you and his warm breath on your neck. It was a moment when, somehow, it felt as though the world felt right and complete and you forgot about the worries of the Titans outside the walls.

You couldn’t help the ache in your chest that lingered and worsened as you thought about the stark contrast of the reality that you find yourself in. Sniffling and struggling to breathe properly, you moved his head to your lap. Removing your hand from his side to his forehead, you brushed his hair neatly aside in a sad attempt to revert him back to the image of the strong and determined leader of the Scout Regiment… the man you fell in love with.

Your body jumped in surprise, a small gasp escaped your lips as you heard a powerful thump just a few feet away from you. You saw how the ginger pleaded with Mikasa for the serum. In what looked like a final but desperate attempt on the young man’s part to take the serum off Levi’s hands and away from the crazed Mikasa, you were shocked to see how she turned her blade to another comrade. She didn’t even hesitate to kill someone else for the sake of the one item capable of resuscitating one of her closest friends from the brink of death. Deep down, that alone angered you.

In a flash, you saw arms suddenly wrap around Mikasa; hands gripping her wrists tight, attempting to pull Mikasa off Levi and stay her blade away from the other young man. Your eyes widened in shock at the sight of a miraculous return of a team mate and trusted friend whom you thought to be dead.

“Hange…" You said quietly as more tears spilled from your eyes; the ache in your chest becoming more and more unbearable. For once, the world wasn’t entirely cruel and didn’t take yet another friend from you.

Mikasa’s growls immediately broke your short joy and surprise, and your eyes locked onto each other for a moment. You could see both the anger and the disbelief in Mikasa’s eyes as her gaze trailed down to Erwin who was resting on your lap now.

You let go of one hand resting on Erwin’s cheek and clutch your jacket where you felt the pain still raging on in your heart. Suddenly, breathing was impossible for but a mere moment, and when it was over, you took short shallow breaths to compose yourself. Letting loose the hand over your heart, you curled into Erwin's battered body.

" _We have to save him…_ " You said softly but the emotion in your voice was like a chime in the wind, everyone stopped talking and slowly turned their heads, looking for the source until their eyes settled onto you. With such shocked disbelief in their eyes, it was as if they had never heard you speak before.

"He's our only hope of ever getting out of this darkness!" You said shakily, looking up at them with puffy eyes that were red from your crying. Your hands tightly clenched your uniform in an attempt to keep them from trembling. But doing so, only made the shaking of your whole body more visible. Now they can see it. They can all see it. That quiet and silent pain you’ve been feeling the entire time that they’ve been bickering and fighting each other… was no longer in the shadows.

"Y/N…." Levi and Hange said in near perfect unison as they both looked at you with equal amounts of sorrow in their eyes. You know that they could never understand nor even comprehend what you are truly feeling. What it’s like for a person like you to have to hide everyday from everyone that the man you love is the man leading Humanity’s charge out of this hell. That right next to that seemingly cold and calculating side to him, you know there’s another side that nobody else knows of or would even remotely think Erwin would be capable of having; the side that knows how to love and is vulnerable.

That he, despite initial reluctance, was willing to open his heart in a time when uncertainty reigned supreme. Erwin didn’t know which day would be his last; if he would die now or years down the line. That’s why, for the longest time, he never considered letting anybody in.

But you were persistent. Long before he even came into being a Commander you saw the glint in his eyes and slowly fell for the star struck boy who longed to see the world. You grew up together and even followed him into the corps because of the way he talked.. it gave you hope and meaning; and when the time came you followed him in the Scout Regiment, eventually becoming part of his team and being one of his loyal friends and comrades when he was promoted to Commander.

He wasn’t the only one who was promoted, Hange, Nanaba, Levi, Mike,and yourself were all promoted as well and given your own teams to lead since you were the ones he trusted most of all.

Seeing how Levi and Hange looked at you like friends that were truly sorry and felt horrible to see you like this, gave a small sort of comfort that’s in such short supply nowadays.

Your eyes turned to Mikasa, who was still fighting against Hange's grip. That feral look she had before had died down to a degree, but her fighting spirit was still determined to reach for Levi and grasp the serum. Hange pulled back tighter on her hold around Mikasa. She was truly struggling to hold her at bay. The moment your eyes made contact with Mikasa’s, you spoke your mind.

"We all have people we want to bring back. We’ve all had to say our fair share of goodbyes to good people who didn't deserve to leave this cruel world so soon,” you remarked as your eyes trailed down to Erwin and the other corpse laying ways across from you. Seeing the slight movement of the charred corpse’s lips, as if desperately breathing in for fresh air… made you shut your eyes and look away. “But here we are, fighting the same fight trying to make sure all their deaths are not in vain!”

Hange’s empathetic gaze on you did not break; though only by a few blinks that grounded her back down to reality. It’s hard to tell if she was truly paying attention to you… or whether she was lost in her memories. But looking down to the broken tiles on the roof, she nodded somberly in agreement.

“She’s right, Mikasa. I have people I wanted to save too; good people who didn't deserve to die. Especially not the way most did…” Hange said in a pained tone. “Even so, we have to keep moving forward.”

You could see the grief in Hange’s eyes and understood exactly what she was saying. It was so rare to see how she displayed such an emotion. Most times whenever you greeted her, whenever you helped her with her odd experiments, there was this crazed excitement in her eyes. Such an expression was enough to make her to be feared by her peers and subordinates. But now… this was entirely different. A whole new emotional side to Hange was revealing itself and it darkened your spirits more once your mind processed her words, and thought back to your squad who was with you only a half hour ago.

_My whole team is gone and there was nothing I could do to help. I'm so useless, I can't help anyone, not myself nor the man I love most._

You looked to Mikasa who went lax in Hange's grip; tears in her eyes, her face was like one of dejection and realization of our words. A sad truth and a dark reality of the world we live in. So many people who deserved to be here. So many of our fellow brothers and sisters in arms… gone. You couldn’t help but think to yourself: I could change this. I could fix this. I could bring them all back, if only I had the power to do so… if only I wasn’t so weak.

Now that you think about it, what did you even bring to the table to be promoted aside from being loyal to Erwin.

Hange was the brains when it came to the Titans and thinking up new ways to experiment and unlock the truth of them. Mike had an extraordinary sense of smell and intuition, he _knew_ when something was amiss and could smell bullshit miles away. Levi had superhuman strength and was as strong as 100 of our best soldiers, he was as good as they came despite his size...so what were you?

_“Nobody. Just an insignificant dust in the wind who contributed nothing.”_ You said to yourself as a sharp pain ran through your chest again.

You looked over at Levi who had a pained expression on his face, syringe in hand ready to make his way to Erwin until Eren grabbed him by his ankle, talking to him about something called an ocean in a last resort effort to save his best friend before the ginger grabbed him to pull him away from Levi.

_“I’m done listening to this damned brat.”_ You thought to yourself, ready to give him an earful but Levi beat you to the punch.

“Everyone out of here!” His voice shrilled through your ears making you jump slightly. “I’m going to have Erwin eat Bertholdt and that’s final!”

No one had the strength left to argue with him and all got up to leave the roof, as they did Levi turned to you with remorse in his eyes as he addressed you. “I’m sorry, you too Y/N…”

“But-“ You were about to argue but his voice stopped you cold in your tracks.

“Please…” He said, with a slight look of pity now in his yes as he turned towards you fully.

You nodded silently, looking back down to Erwin and stroking his golden hair to the side once more and placed a soft kiss on his forehead whispering a soft ‘I love you’ before softly placing his head back down on the tiles of the roof you were on before standing back up and following the others to the roof there were on; heart throbbing in anxiety.

He said Erwin but the look in his eyes made you feel uneasy and you didn’t like that… The next few minutes were the longest of your life as your heart raced in your chest waiting for the sign of Erwin being transformed into a titan and suddenly there was a bang and flash, but what you saw when the dust cleared made the final string in your heart snap.

That Titan was blonde, but it did not look like Erwin. In fact it looked like another young blonde who was on the brink of death as well and that hurt you felt in your chest was like no other because now you _knew._ Knew Erwin was really gone ... and you were powerless to do anything to help or change that. You whimpered in anguish as the pain spread from your chest to your whole body and you collapsed into yourself, tears streaming down your face again as you clenched your hands to your heart, trying to will the pain in you to go away.

You could hear the others talking but the ringing in your ears and the pain spreading from the loss of the one you love did not allow you to listen. All hope was lost and you felt and saw no reason to continue.

A hand gently tried to soothe your back and you looked up to see Hange was the one trying to comfort you.The pain in her eyes from also losing a friend was there but the anguish she saw in yours was one she knew she should not fathom and it broke a piece of her to see a dear friend suffering so much.

_“I’m sorry…” Levi said softly not looking at you and you glared at home angrily through bleary eyes. “I’m… sorry.”_

…

That was the last thing you remember hearing before waking up in a cold sweat, pain still in your chest as you gripped at it and tried to catch your breath; tears slowly making their way down your face as you sat in your bed in confusion.


	2. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Thank you for returning to my story!! Sorry for the delay, I have so many things I'm working on at once and have so many fic ideas I want to do but just dont have the concentration for.
> 
> Just to make things easier on me I'm setting up some preset things as far as you as the reader goes. Your last name is Adair and you are 5'1". Hope that doesn't effect you guys too much as the reader but if you dont like it then dont read it lol.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!!

_ “I’m sorry…” Levi said softly not looking at you and you glared at him angrily through bleary eyes. “I’m… sorry.” _

_ … _

That was the last thing you remember hearing before waking up in a cold sweat. The pain was still in your chest as you gripped at it and tried to catch your breath. Tears slowly made their way down your face as you sat up in your bed, confused.

"That dream again?" You said, rubbing the tears from your eyes and cheeks. "I can never remember it but god… it always makes me feel horrible."

You grabbed your phone, which rested on the nightstand next to your bed to check the time. 5:46 am.

Flopping back onto your bed, you let out a groan knowing you would not be able to fall back to sleep after waking up like that.

"What a great way to start off my first day at my new job in a new city." You said to yourself as you begrudgingly rose back up from your bed to start getting ready for the day ahead of you.

You had just moved to the city Stohess, a large metropolitan area on the rise. You were originally from a small town off in the middle of nowhere. But that changed when you decided that it was time to make a name for yourself and get away from the memories that resided in that small town. So you moved to Stohess and left everything behind you to start anew, as an Executive Assistant at a big company called The Regiment.

It was by no means a very glamorous job in your opinion but it was leagues above being a retail worker and you were glad to finally not have to deal with angry, or otherwise upset, customers for a change. From what you could tell based off their site, it was a company that had special dealings specifically with the Military Police; making and selling gear that they needed.

With a lengthy sigh you stood up from the bed and stretched; your joints popping as you did.

“Time to get ready, I guess…” You said with a slight yawn as you opened the blinds to your windows. The sky was still encompassed in a dark shade of blue. Off in the horizon however, you could see the shade of the sky was slightly lighter, indicating the sun was indeed rising; the start of a new day.

You made your way to the kitchen. Some of your unpacked boxes were still laying around haphazardly in the hallway to the kitchen and others were still sitting atop the counters.

“But first, coffee. I’m seriously going to need it today, especially after that dream again.” You muttered to yourself as you popped in a pod into your Keurig machines. Soon the air was filled with the scent of coffee mixed with french vanilla. The scent wafting through the air gave you a sense of comfort and familiarity. Something that makes you feel more at home in this large new city and empty home.

The beep of the machine draws you out from your thoughts and indicates your coffee is done. You gingerly move your cup from the machine to the counter, putting in a few spoonfuls of sugar and some creamer to make the bitter drink sweeter and more to your taste. You take a small sip of the warm drink before moving from the kitchen, through the living room, and out onto the balcony. The fresh crisp morning air bit at your skin a little but you ignored it and leaned against the railing as you admired the cityscape view you had.

It wasn’t a big apartment nor was it luxurious compared to others you looked at but the view was what sold you. Something about being above the cityscape and watching the passersby down below get along with their daily lives, was calming to you.

You hummed in appreciation as you took another sip of your coffee and briefly closed your eyes to relish in that moment, taking in the light sounds of the city around you as people were already bustling about for their day.

“I made the right choice. No going back now-,” you stopped mid-sentence, thinking about that statement. You scoffed, lightly shaking your head, “Nothing to go back to, anyway.”

Taking another sip of your coffee, you watched as shades of pink and purple dusted the slightly overcast sky. “I really gotta get ready now.”

You walked back inside, closing the door behind you as you made your way back to your bedroom. You placed your coffee mug on top of your dresser before you started to sift through your closet for your outfit. “Something simple and that doesn’t make me stand out too much,” you muttered as you nodded to yourself. 

You settled on a simple black pencil skirt that fell a few inches above your knees, a cute cream loose turtleneck, and a tan coat that had gold buttons adorning the cuffs of the jacket and lining down the front.

“There. Perfect,” you uttered to yourself, smiling. Content with your choice, you laid out your outfit across your bed; smoothing it out of all wrinkles. You grabbed your mug of coffee and finished it off before moving to the bathroom that was directly across from your room to start on your hair and makeup.

You curled your hair and brushed it out to give your hair a more natural wavy appearance. Once that was done, you opted for a simple makeup look. Glancing at yourself in the mirror, you instantly caught the dark circles beneath your eyes. The lack of sleep you’ve gotten from both your recent move and now the strange dreams that seemed to come more often, is catching up to you. You grabbed your concealer and immediately proceeded to cover up the dark circles. 

After applying the finishing touches of your makeup, you went back to your bedroom to get dressed. Deciding to add a pair of opaque black tights to your outfit at the last moment, you put on the neatly laid out clothes that rested on your bed. Clasping your watch on, you added a simple gold colored necklace, a pair of earrings that were shaped as roses, and a matching ring that also had a small rose in the center of it, to top off your outfit.

The ring and earrings had a significant meaning to you as they were the last things your grandmother had given to you before she had passed away a couple years prior. You always wore one or the other. Though given that today is your first big day at such a large and prestigious company, you opted for both.

It sounded silly but they gave you such comfort and in a way, they were like lucky charms to you. And today was a day where you needed all the comfort and luck you could possibly muster because you did not want to screw up; especially not on your first day at a new job. You  _ needed _ to make a good first impression.

After you gave yourself a glance over in the floor length mirror you had propped up against the wall, you gave a small nod satisfied with what you saw. You maneuvered your way through the hallway once more and headed straight for the front door where your shoes and purse were.

Squinting your eyes slightly you contemplated which of the shoes that were neatly displayed on the shoe rack near your door, you ought to wear. Your eyes dragged along the various heels and flats that laid on the rack, settling on the brand new pair of red heels that sat at the far left of the rack.

“ _ Red it is. My outfit needs a little color anyway _ .” You thought aloud to yourself as you picked them up and placed them on the floor, sliding your feet into them.

You raised your wrist and glanced down to your watch. 6:20 am. “Guess I could start to head out now. Maybe I’ll go grab another cup of coffee and something to eat before I head over. They said I don’t have to be there until 7 a.m., so I should have plenty of time.”

Grabbing your purse, scarf, and putting on your work lanyard that hung from the rack near the main entrance, you made your way out. Pulling your keys out, you locked the door behind you and made your way to the elevator to go down from the 7th floor of the complex you lived in.

Another perk of the apartment you chose? It was only a 12 minute walk from your new job which means you didn’t have to worry about driving or taking any kind of transportation. Sure you had a car you could use, but that would be rather impractical. Not to mention it was a chance to breathe in some fresh air. Plus, walking always seemed to help clear your mind whenever you were stressed or nervous.

The ding of the elevator pulled you from your thoughts. You made your way out the complex, greeted by the doorman on your way out whom you just smiled and gave a small nod to as a greeting.

The slightly clouded sky was now a beautiful mix of pastel pinks, yellows, and purples when you looked up. A small smile of appreciation appeared on your lips as you admired the beauty of it before walking in the direction of the office. You wrapped the cream colored scarf resting on your forearm around your neck as the crisp autumn air nipped at your skin.

As a small breeze blew in your direction, a distinct fragrance of coffee hit your nose and made you stop in your tracks. Eyes scanning the buildings around you for the source of such a smell, your eyes landed on a sign that was just a few feet away from you that neatly read Utopia Café across the surface.

“Coffee...” You muttered to yourself. Now, as if on a mission, your strides had more of an urgency to them as you made your way to the shop. You stopped in front of it, marveling at the simple elegant design of the shop. It was a stark contrast from the other shops and buildings around it that were more modern and contemporary; more fitting of the surrounding cityscape.

What surprised you the most was that there were no windows at the front of the shop like the rest of the building. Just the brick facing and some plants that were hung around and sitting on the floor next to a chalkboard sign that had the day’s special. The only other thing that decorated the front of the establishment was the sign that hung above the entrance to indicate it was a coffee shop.

After you finished admiring the facade of this particular establishment, you opened the door; the strong aroma of coffee hitting your nose instantly. You stared in awe once you stepped inside. There may not have been windows in the front but in the center of the ceiling was a large skylight. On one side, the wall was covered in greenery; vines scaling the tall wall right next to the entrance. The opposite wall was covered floor to ceiling with books free for reading to paying customers. There were couches in the middle where the center of the skylight was and tables littered throughout the rest of the space around.

You eyes wandered over the few people who were already seated with drinks, laptops and books laying across from them as they were either studying or working in silence with light French Bistro music playing in the background. There was a small line at the very back of the building where you assumed the baristas were taking orders. Walking past the tables, you made your way to the short line.

As you waited, you continued to enjoy your surroundings and marvel at the beauty of this admittedly obscure coffee place. 

_ “This place is amazing. If the coffee tastes as good as it smells, they can take my money and count me as a regular. I’ve never felt so at ease and welcomed in a cafe before.” _ You thought to yourself as you reminisced about the other coffee shops you would go to. Thinking about how they were always bustling with people, between the baristas taking and shouting orders and customers also talking very loudly; they always felt so hectic to you.

“Miss? Next.” You were pulled from your thoughts when you heard a soft voice calling to you indicating it was your turn.

You briskly turned around and walked to the register where the barista called for you. You felt your breath catch in your throat as you made eye contact with the blonde who was standing in front of you. Your heart felt uneasy for some reason and you felt a sort of disinclination and aversion towards this young blonde. His blue eyes widened slightly as he looked at you, and you could see his pupils dilated slightly as they looked into yours.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable you shifted slightly and that seemed to snap the blonde out of whatever trance he appeared to be in, giving you a rather nervous smile.

“How may I help you today, ma’am?” His voice wavered slightly as he spoke; hands fidgeting with the hem of his apron.

“Hi, I’ll have a Butterfly Latte. I’ll also take a…. ham and cheese croissant, please.” You said, giving him a gentle genuine smile that seemed to calm him a bit. You glanced at the young man in front of you and saw his name tag read Armin. He had to be no older than 18; he had such a baby face you’d bet he's probably never had a girlfriend before.

“One butterfly latte and a ham and cheese croissant. That will be $12 even. Will that be with cash or card?” He said as he finally met your eyes again.

“Card, please.” You responded back to him. You pulled your wallet from your purse and inserted the card into the card reader.

“May I have a name for your order, miss?” Armin said as he pulled a cup and marker out to write your name. You gave him your first name and he nodded as he wrote it down. The nervous smile was still on his face. “We’ll call you when your order is ready.”

You nodded silently and sat down at a nearby empty couch and placed your bag down next you, checking your watch again which now read 6:35 am. Letting out an anxious sigh you leaned back into the comfortable cushioning of the couch and glanced up at the glass ceiling, admiring the pastel colored sky as the clouds slowly moved across.

Feeling a pair of eyes on you, you averted your gaze from the sky above you and found a familiar pair of blue orbs staring at you from across. You could see a tinge of pink on the young man's cheeks as he realized he was staring. He quickly looked away and ran off behind a doorway.

“ _ What a strange kid.” _ You thought to yourself as you took your phone out and began to scroll through it mindlessly, waiting for your order. You didn’t have to wait long because only a minute later, you heard your name being called and saw that the young man named Armin was looking at you nervously from behind the bar. You got up and left your purse on the couch to save your spot as you went to grab your coffee and croissant.

“Do I know you or do you know me from somewhere?” You asked him as you stood in front of him. Your gaze pierced him as you examined him and you wondered what this strange feeling in your chest was when you looked at him. With your heels on you were probably only an inch shorter than him. Out of your heels though, he had at least 5 inches on you. Granted you weren’t very tall to begin with standing at only 5 foot 1 inches, but your 3 inch heels gave you some extra height and had you standing at a solid 5 foot 4.

He stuttered a bit at the sudden question and averted his eyes, mindlessly fidgeting with the end of his apron again; your eyes squinting slightly as you watched him. Your curiosity increases as you were overcome with this intense feeling of deja vu… like you know him. But you know for a fact that you’ve never seen or met him before. At all. 

“I- uh, no I don’t think so….” He said as he finally met your gaze again. “I was born and raised here, so unless you lived around here I doubt we’ve ever seen each other.”

You hum in response as you grab your drink and croissant on top of the counter.

“Well that is unlikely then. I just moved here from a town about 2 and a half hours away from here. You just seemed familiar and I saw you kept looking at me like you knew me. I was merely curious. Sorry if I gave you a fright. I don’t bite, I promise.” You finished with a small shrug and smile before walking back to your spot on the couch, leaving the slightly shocked boy to his own devices. Taking a sip of the drink, you let out a sigh of appreciation as the sweet and savory drink hit your taste buds.

_ “Oh yeah, I’m definitely coming back here more often.” _ You thought to yourself as you took another sip of the warm drink before taking a bite out of the sandwich, smiling to yourself at how amazing such a simple sandwich could be.

After a few more minutes you finished off the sandwich and looked at your watch. A small gasp escaped your lips as you saw the time read 6:45 a.m. You quickly got up, gathering your belongings as you hastily made your way back to the front door. “Shit. I’ve got to start making my way over now.”

Right as you reached the door and went to open it, it swung open in front of you which caused you to stumble back a bit. Out of surprise, you involuntarily released the cup that still held about half of your unfinished latte. You looked down, eyes screwed shut as you prepared for it to spill all over you. But it didn’t. You peeked one eye open and saw a pair of neatly polished black dress shoes and a hand holding your drink. Your face flushed a bright pink as you quickly looked up to apologize to whomever it was you bumped into. 

“Tch… You should pay more attention-“ The person started before stopping mid sentence as his steely grey eyes met yours. In that moment, you felt your heart clench in your chest again just as it did when you saw the boy named Armin but this time it wasn’t a disinclination you felt but something different. Something that you just couldn’t put your finger on.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” You said, slightly bowing in apology. Your eyes met his once more before you averted your gaze, feeling your face heat up even more out of embarrassment. The man standing before you was kind of handsome, in a sense. Though he wasn’t tall in the slightest, he had an air of authority around him. You could smell his cologne and in your head for some reason, you thought it suited him well. His cool eyes were slightly widened as if shocked to see you. He had a sharp nose and jawline that most people would die for. His dark hair was neatly done and half of it was combed back while the other half rested on his forehead. He had on a black 2 piece suit that was contrasted by a light gray button up shirt and topped it off with a white cravat. A rather strange piece to wear since it was not something commonly used in everyday fashion; but again, you found it suited him very well.

“[Y/N]…” The stranger called out and you blinked in confusion. Your eyebrows scrunched together as you stared at him before you snapped out of it as you suddenly remembered why you were rushing out to begin with. 

“Ah, I have to get going or I’ll be late. I’m sorry again!” You took your drink from the stranger’s hands and gave another small bow of apology before rushing out the door. The cool crisp morning air was welcomed as your face was still burning from embarrassment.

“ _ How did he know my name? Does he know me from somewhere? _ ” You thought to yourself as you quickly made your way towards your new job. Thankfully you made it there with a couple minutes to spare and you breathed a sigh of relief as you walked through the automatic doors, straight to where the receptionist desk was.

“Hi, it's my first official day here. I was told to talk to you and let you know when I came in?” You said to the ginger who had her back to you and who promptly turned around when she heard you speak.

“Oh, hello, I’m Petra!” She said with much enthusiasm in her voice. “You must be Ms. Adair, yes?” Her eyes shone brightly as she took in your appearance and lingered on the badge they had given you when you were hired.

You nodded and confirmed your first and last name for her, nervously fiddling with the ring on your finger.

“I’ll let them know you’re here. Mr. Ackerman just went out a few minutes ago in a rush. I’m not too sure where he ran off to but he should be back any moment. He’s not one to be late.” She said with a gentle smile. “In the meantime, you can go ahead and take a seat over by the window while you wait.”

You gave a nod of appreciation and smiled back “Oh, do you happen to have a trash bin? I didn’t have a chance to toss this on my way over here.”

“Of course.” She said as she leaned over and held the bin up for me to toss my now empty coffee cup into.

“Thank you.” You said as you made your way over to the designated seating area and waited. Once again, your eyes are drawn up to the now blue and yellow toned sky; the clouds still covering most of it. Looking at the sky always had a calming effect on you. Whenever you were feeling off or needed calming, you always loved to go on walks to the nearby park where you used to live. Sometimes you would just sit there to stare at the sky as the clouds and various birds would move across.

Hearing your name pulled you out of your thoughts and your eyes wandered over towards the ginger woman named Petra, who was now conversing with a shorter figure you thought you recognized. She made a gesture in your direction and the man turned. His serious face morphed once again into one of slight shock as his eyes landed on your sitting form.

You immediately stood up as the man made his way to you, stopping a few feet in front of you as he nonchalantly looked at you from your head to toes before meeting your eyes again. His eyes had a sort of softness to them as he looked at you. He cleared his throat and held out left hand to you.

“My name is Levi Ackerman. I am the Chief of Staff here at The Regiment.” He said briskly, eyes expectantly looking into yours. Though you had heels on and stood just a couple inches above him, you felt so small under his gaze.

“Ah, I’m (Y/N) Adair.” You said politely as you gingerly placed your left hand into his. There was a slight shock when your hand touched his as flashes of images you couldn’t quite make out, made your head feel heavy. You instinctively tighten your grip on his hand as the pain shot into your head and squeezed your eyes shut.

Levi called your name a couple times but it wasn’t until he placed his other hand on your shoulder that you snapped back to your senses. You opened your eyes again and his face was so close to yours, it made your face heat up again. His eyes were filled with nothing but concern as he gazed at you and examined your facial features.

You felt your whole face heat up even more when you realized how close you were to him; quickly retracting your hand and slightly jumping back. Your foot got caught on itself when you tried to step away from him and stumbled back. Your eyes widened before screwing shut again and preparing for impact. The fall never came though. Instead you felt the warmth of an arm wrapped around your waist as it held you up.

“You really are quite clumsy today, aren’t you?” Levi said. His voice snapped you back into reality again. You were pretty sure your face was as bright as a tomato because your face heated up again and that warmth crept down your neck. His face was close to yours again; you could feel the warmth of his breath when he talked and the scent of his cologne filled your nose.

“Were you always this clumsy?” He said under his breath as he helped you stand up straight again before letting you go; his gaze still on you examining you for a reaction.

“I’m sorry?” You said questionably, raising a slight brow at his remark.

He just ignored your remark and turned, making a gesture with his hand to follow him. “This way. Your shift began already and we can’t fall behind schedule anymore.”

You stood there in bewilderment for a moment before you shook yourself back into senses. You followed Levi further into the building, copying him as he scanned his badge to access the area where the elevators were.

  
_ “This is it. My first official day and I've already made a mess of things and seemingly gave a bad impression to the person who would very well fire me in an instant.” _ You mentally rambled to yourself as you stood next to the man, anxiously waiting for the elevator. You were going to make the best of the rest of your day, no matter what came your way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Me again!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I wrote out a bit more than I was planning to and will probably have the next chapter up in a week or two as I plan to work on my other fic and get out some self indulgent fics too.
> 
> Again please let me know if you enjoyed, I love to hear form you guys!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> If you truly enjoyed reading this and want to see more please let me know, I am fueled by people and as long as I know its wanted I will keep writing~


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